Chennai promises hassle-free housing

THE property market in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, has always been stable unlike markets in other Indian metros such as Mumbai, Delhi or Bengaluru.
There is not much volatility in the market, as prices do not shoot up or tumble. When the city was crippled by floods late last year, its infrastructure withstood much better than those in the other metros.
"Both the auto and IT sectors continue to attract leading global and domestic players," he says. Hyundai Motors, Bharat Benz, Renault-Nissan and other automakers are expanding their operations and investing huge sums in Chennai.
In the IT sector, Ford Motors - which has a manufacturing plant and plans to set up a new global engineering and technology centre - has a major global customer support centre operating in Chennai.
"But despite these investments, Chennai has remained a stable market," says Chandramouli. "It is an end-user market, not a speculator-driven one."
In terms of infrastructure, he notes that motorists do not get caught up in massive snarls, as happens in Bengaluru, Mumbai or Delhi.
"Apart from well-established rail connectivity along the Tambaram GST Road, MRTS and Metro will be ready in the next few years with well-planned intersections making travel by train easy and effective," says Chandramouli. Furthermore, the 400-foot outer ring road will connect the GST Road to north Chennai and decongest city traffic.
The government plans to develop the Chennai Peripheral road, a 160-kilometre-long semi-circular corridor, which will cost about Rs100 billion.
According to Chandramouli, there was a 21 per cent fall in sales in the January-October period in Chennai, compared to the corresponding period in 2014. But prices have remained constant in 2015 when compared with the previous year, he adds.
When asked about the impact of recent floods, Chandramouli notes that the city has recovered. Several sports and cultural events have been held as scheduled. These include a tennis tournament, musical festival, and an A. R. Rahman concert.
Consumers though are now laying great emphasis on the background and credibility of developers. "For housing, trust is the most important thing," he avers. "A buyer puts all his savings to buy a house, so trust in a builder is very important."
The more than century-old TVS Group, which has been active in automobiles and auto finance, forayed into the real estate sector in 2013. The TVS brand ensured credibility among buyers, he adds.
It delivered its first project in 22 months, earlier than the promised 24 months. TVS Emerald is currently promoting two projects - GreenAcres and GreenHills. Both are located in growing suburbs and are well-connected to the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), known as Chennai's IT corridor, and the Sriperumbudur and Oragadam manufacturing hubs.
GreenAcres is located at Kolapakkam and occupies sprawling 18-acres of property. It features villas and apartments, landscaping, a terraced garden for fourth floor flats and recreational facilities. GreenHills is located at Nedungundram and is a gated community.
Both projects feature villas and apartments. Apartments are priced at Rs2.5 million (for 580 square feet) and go up to Rs5 million (for 1,200 square feet). Three-bedroom villas are being sold at nearly Rs10 million.
According to Chandramouli, the company is regenerating old wells at its projects, deepening and desilting them. "The quality of water in these old wells is very good, so we are rejuvenating them," he adds.

• India